Waqf Wastage

With the Government failing to address many issues on Developmental front, many areas remain unaddressed. The Waqaf is a new disatster. Jammu and Kahsmir government is doing lot of lip service and doing nothing productive as far as revitalizing some of the Government run departments. For instance, on September 6 this year, the government informed the Legislative Council that more than 6000 kanals of Waqf land have been usurped. With a little more than 90 thousand kanals in government possession, it said 6000 kanals were illegally occupied. J&K state is not the only place where there has been mass bungling in the case of managing Waqf properties. On November 24, a PTI (Press Trust of India) report said that the Delhi government headed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) informed the Delhi High Court it was taking steps to enforce eviction orders against encroachers of 990 Waqf properties. A bench had directed the government, Waqf Board and other authorities to file an ATR (Action Taken Report). On November 4, in Maharashtra, the government after six months of announcing a probe into usurping of Waqf properties, gave a go-ahead to the state’s Criminal Investigation Department to launch the investigation. The areas under scanner are Nashik, Aurangabad, Mumbai and Panvel – places named in the encroachment of hundreds of crores worth Waqf property allegations. There is enough evidence that points to the fact that usurping or illegal occupation of Waqf properties is a systemic problem that is not confined to J&K state only but has been affecting the Waqf assets wherever they are. While as the courts blame governments as well as boards and authorities managing the affairs – for the bungling, governments often throw that ball in the court of Waqf boards. In any case the eviction process is as much tardy as it is ineffective. With governments and authorities failing to recover illegally held properties, the new challenge becomes to protect whatever is left. Assets worth Rs thousands of crores that are meant to help the needy are grabbed by fraud and deceit by unscrupulous elements. There are numerous allegations of graft against Waqf boards and authorities who are supposed to check on them. Successive governments have snubbed the allegations the result of which is the admission by the incumbent government that 6000 kanals of land are illegally occupied. Mere admission won’t bring any change; the J&K government needs to come up with an ATR.